The Running Thread—2023

[RuntheMouse]

July running totals:
115.3 miles
11:13 avg pace

Still base building, have another month before I start marathon training.

Also got 51.4 miles of walking in. Figure time on feet right?

 

[Grabnar]

I'm really annoyed - over the last week I've been getting bitten by mosquitoes while out on my runs/walks and I think I've developed an allergic reaction to mosquito bites (Skeeter syndrome I think it's called)! Getting lots of large areas of redness and inflammation and a couple of tiny blisters around mosquito bites.

Never used to have such bad reactions to mosquito bites before! Mosquitoes aren't even a seasonal thing here (they're here all year round) and I've been running this route without incident for the last 4 years or so, so getting so many mosquito bites (10+ bites in the last 2 days) with this sort of allergic reaction was completely unexpected.

Thank goodness for antihistamines and anti-itch cream.

Need to look into some sort of mosquito repellent for running now...

Happened to me a few years ago and it turned out we got some new species of mosquito coming in due to climate change

 

[KevM]

Not going to get a run in tomorrow so my July totals:

55 miles
10h 50m
11:49 ave mile/hr

My highest total since January. I have signed u for a couple races, including the Philly marathon so I should be getting back into a routine

 

[avondale]

Happened to me a few years ago and it turned out we got some new species of mosquito coming in due to climate change

That's something to look into, @sky13 . We got the Asian tiger mosquito in the DC area a couple of decades ago due to climate change...and it is out during broad daylight. A new variety could be more irritating itself or tend to carry something different.

I've always been one of those people that gets bitten a lot by mosquitos, so I don't want to even think about getting MORE of a reaction from them. Usually, though, they don't bite me when I'm running (no, I don't run that fast) - it's if I stop. I try not to stop for too long during a run in mosquito season, and if I do, I try to keep my limbs moving so they won't land.

 

[Grabnar]

That's something to look into, @sky13 . We got the Asian tiger mosquito in the DC area a couple of decades ago due to climate change...and it is out during broad daylight. A new variety could be more irritating itself or tend to carry something different.

I've always been one of those people that gets bitten a lot by mosquitos, so I don't want to even think about getting MORE of a reaction from them. Usually, though, they don't bite me when I'm running (no, I don't run that fast) - it's if I stop. I try not to stop for too long during a run in mosquito season, and if I do, I try to keep my limbs moving so they won't land.

Being done before sunrise helps too, they’re most active +/- 30 min before sunrise/sunset

 

[RunWI1265]

July Run Totals
113.95 mi
Also completed the Peloton Density program. Highly recommend if you are into no frills, basic muscle building movements that yield great results.

YTD Run Totals
653.69 mi

 

[dobball23]

July Totals

Running
Runs: 19
Miles: 120.61
Time: 18:03:34
Avg Pace: 8:59

2023 Miles: 1,036.8

I've been doing mile training this summer, but my lower back started to hurt about 1.5 weeks ago. I took just over a week off from running but did runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and my back seemed to respond well. My mile training plan may go by the wayside as I look ahead to Dopey.

I've run 1,719 and 1,751 miles the last two years. I entered this year hoping I would get to 1,800 for the first time. I was ahead of pace until missing that week. Luckily I'm only about 2 miles per month behind pace. I'm sure I'll get there as long as I stay healthy during Dopey training.

 

[SheHulk]

July Running:

Total distance: 114 miles
Average pace: 11:17/mi

Training for Chicago... missed/shortened some planned runs due to travel, and definitely have been slowing down for the heat. I'm just training to finish the race though so I should be fine. It's very relaxing not having a time goal.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

July 2023
Running distance: 142.1 miles
Running time: 24h 26m
Strength training: 4h 43m
Core: 46m
Yoga/Pilates: 1h 11m
Total training time: 31h 7m

I also happened to surpass 1,000 miles* for 2023 today! Last year that didn't happen until mid-December

And totals will be ramping up again shortly because I start marathon training next week! I might even see my first 200-mile month this fall

*ETA: Turns out I was looking at total miles, which includes a bit of biking. So for running, I'm still "only" at 973.4 Still a lot farther than this point last year!

 

[Grabnar]

July 2023:
Running distance: 82.8 mi
Running time: 16:19:25

YTD distance: 323.8
YTD time: 57:01:54

Not too shabby given the heat/humidity. I'm still on the base-building portion of my training, about to head into Dopey. Things are going well though, I can definitely tell that PT made a huge difference.

 

[Dopey 2020]

Happy with July, after a couple months of running becoming a chore, it’s back to being enjoyable. The last section of a local bike path has opened and I now can run from my house for as many miles as I would like. Made every scheduled run except for one (thought it wise to spend my 27th anniversary with my beautiful wife instead of running). August will be a bit of work to get in the miles as we’ll be taking a week to head to FL and move DD back into college, but I’ll get it done and start ramping things up for W&D and MW.

 

[sky13]

Happened to me a few years ago and it turned out we got some new species of mosquito coming in due to climate change

That's something to look into, @sky13 . We got the Asian tiger mosquito in the DC area a couple of decades ago due to climate change...and it is out during broad daylight. A new variety could be more irritating itself or tend to carry something different.

I've always been one of those people that gets bitten a lot by mosquitos, so I don't want to even think about getting MORE of a reaction from them. Usually, though, they don't bite me when I'm running (no, I don't run that fast) - it's if I stop. I try not to stop for too long during a run in mosquito season, and if I do, I try to keep my limbs moving so they won't land.

Being done before sunrise helps too, they’re most active +/- 30 min before sunrise/sunset

Thanks all!

Thinking about it I think the new species of mosquito might be likely... I currently have a mix of mosquito bites some of which are "normal" (tiny patches of redness that aren't too itchy), some of which are extremely itchy with blisters, and 3 of which are horrendously huge patches of redness/swelling (the largest is >3 inches!) where there's clearly been some sort of overactive inflammation and reaction to the bite. So I'm guessing that the 3 horrendously huge patches are probably from a bite by a different mosquito species than the "normal" bites...

Seems like I might have to wait 3-10 days for the swelling to improve...

I'm rather impressed I got so many bites as I stopped for at most a couple of minutes on the run/walks where I got these bites. But it was at around 6am so I wonder if maybe the mosquitoes were just extremely hungry after being starved of humans to feed on overnight... I don't tend to get bitten nearly as much when I run in the late afternoon/early evening!

Anyway, I got a bottle of mosquito repellent, hopefully it works!

 

[SheHulk]

Made every scheduled run except for one (thought it wise to spend my 27th anniversary with my beautiful wife instead of running).

The solution is to get your beautiful wife into running

 

[SheHulk]

Apologies, I know this q has been asked a million times, but my friend is attempting to start running run/walk intervals, and she used the Galloway app but wants to use her own music and stuff like that. She does not have a running watch. How do people time their intervals if they don't use a running watch and don't use the Galloway app? Any other (preferably free) apps? That let you play your own music at the same time?

 

[PrincessV]

I'm really annoyed - over the last week I've been getting bitten by mosquitoes while out on my runs/walks and I think I've developed an allergic reaction to mosquito bites (Skeeter syndrome I think it's called)! Getting lots of large areas of redness and inflammation and a couple of tiny blisters around mosquito bites.

Never used to have such bad reactions to mosquito bites before! Mosquitoes aren't even a seasonal thing here (they're here all year round) and I've been running this route without incident for the last 4 years or so, so getting so many mosquito bites (10+ bites in the last 2 days) with this sort of allergic reaction was completely unexpected.

Thank goodness for antihistamines and anti-itch cream.

Need to look into some sort of mosquito repellent for running now...

Hi, I might be able to help with this one! I am VERY allergic to biting (and stinging) insects: major swelling, hIves, itching and scarring that goes on for weeks. Two things that work for me: 1. OFF unscented non-aerosol (pump spray) with DEET - I’m in FL and the natural stuff doesn’t do anything to deter mosquitoes; DEET’s the only way to go. I just wash it off as soon as I’m done with outdoor activity. 2. Hemorrhoid gel If I do get bit. Cream is fine, too, but for some reason gel seems better. NOTHING relieves the swelling and itching as well as that! Oral Benadryl is always great, too, but for instant relief on the spot, trust V: hemorrhoid gel is where it’s at.

 

[PrincessV]

Apologies, I know this q has been asked a million times, but my friend is attempting to start running run/walk intervals, and she used the Galloway app but wants to use her own music and stuff like that. She does not have a running watch. How do people time their intervals if they don't use a running watch and don't use the Galloway app? Any other (preferably free) apps? That let you play your own music at the same time?

I’m a big fan of the iSmoothRun phone app. Lots of settings and alerts to choose from, almost limitless customizing of workouts and intervals, shoe tracking, nutrition tracking, very accurate GPS, and integrates seamlessly with music. I’ve been using it for a decade+ and have had no issues!

 

[kps7795]

July 2023 Totals
Running Distance: 73.87 miles
Running Time: 15:03:34
Traditional Strength Training Time: 13:15:44
Core Training: 2:04:24
HIIT: 2:00:32
Yoga/Pilates: 6:00:05

 

[sandam1]

How do people time their intervals if they don't use a running watch and don't use the Galloway app? Any other (preferably free) apps? That let you play your own music at the same time?

I use the Seconds app. It is a paid app (the free version is glitchy), but I think it cost me $5. It plays in my headphones and just beeps over the music. Programming is super simple which is why I love it.

I know a lot of Galloway runners also swear by the Gymboss which is a separate device that beeps. Personally, I don't want another thing to carry when I'm running, but it is very popular.

 

[LorrieAnn5]

Apologies, I know this q has been asked a million times, but my friend is attempting to start running run/walk intervals, and she used the Galloway app but wants to use her own music and stuff like that. She does not have a running watch. How do people time their intervals if they don't use a running watch and don't use the Galloway app? Any other (preferably free) apps? That let you play your own music at the same time?

Great timing for this question because I wanted to tell y'all about the "Interval Timer" app I've been using the past two weeks. I was having a hard time with the app I had used for years so I finally switched to this app called "Interval Timer" by dreamspark in Google Play. (I have no skin in this game.)
The thing I enjoy about this app is that you can make up your own workouts and save them....which isn't that uncommon, BUT you can label each section of the workout by typing whatever you want to call it. So instead of just plain old, Run, Walk, Jog I typed in "focus on quick turn over" then the next section I typed "lengthen your stride and RUN!" A voice tells me what to do as I get to each part of the workout so I feel like I have my own personal cheering squad during my workouts! I listen to audiobooks while I run, and I keep the phone screen off and the app works perfectly, never shutting off or missing a cue during my 80 minute long runs.

July 2023: Activities: 10 Distance: 37.81 mi Time: 7:32:29 This includes two 7-mile runs, a 10k, a 5k and a 1-mile run.
I started the month finishing my June/July holiday in Disneyland Paris so I didn't start running until the month was 33% over. I bumped up my running from twice a week to 3 times a week and reduced Strength training from 5-one hour sessions to 4-half hour sessions.

I made a poster which I hung on the door to my basement and I've been checking off each of my workouts. I'm combining yoga, express strength training, and running so it is much easier to keep track of on the poster than just in my phone. It's fun to see my 6 week plan hanging up and my check marks as I progress through each week.

 

[Dopey 2020]

The solution is to get your beautiful wife into running

Yes! I have tried, both her and DD have done Castaway 5K, Princess 5K and Star Wars 5K. Both said, “If I don’t like running Disney why would I run anywhere else” but I’ll keep trying

Apologies, I know this q has been asked a million times, but my friend is attempting to start running run/walk intervals, and she used the Galloway app but wants to use her own music and stuff like that. She does not have a running watch. How do people time their intervals if they don't use a running watch and don't use the Galloway app? Any other (preferably free) apps? That let you play your own music at the same time?

I used to use intervals pro (the free version only allows one workout setup) but that’s all I needed and it was very simple and basic and ran in the background while my music and map my run were open on my phone. Now I rarely carry a phone